JP4931661B2 - Article supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article supply apparatus for sending articles received from a previous process to a subsequent process in a predetermined number of units.

For example, in Patent Document 1, a pair of conveyors that guide articles to a supply position of a rotating belt having a large number of pockets are used as an article supply device that sends articles sequentially conveyed from a previous process to a subsequent process in predetermined units. The tip portion is moved rearward by the swing mechanism as the rotating belt is fed rearward in the article transfer direction. Further, the articles are supplied to the pockets by sequentially swinging the front end portion of the conveyor to the rear side in correspondence with the supply position relatively moving to the rear side. Then, the rotary belt is moved to the front side, and the article is horizontally moved to the discharge position positioned in line with the supply position. The article is taken out in a plurality of units at the discharge position and delivered to the next process.
Japanese Patent No. 3273567

  The apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is for moving a plurality of articles to a discharge position after receiving an article from the transport belt by shifting the supply position to the rear side while stopping the rotating belt when supplying the article. In that period, articles cannot be supplied from the conveyor belt, and are not suitable for high-speed processing. That is, in such a conventional apparatus, for example, when articles that have been conveyed at an extremely high speed of 400 or more per minute are sent out in a predetermined number of units while being continuously received, a yield occurs due to variations in the intervals between the articles. There was a problem such as.

  In view of the above-described problems inherent in the prior art, the present invention has been proposed to suitably solve these problems, and provides an article supply apparatus that can satisfactorily carry an article that requires high-speed processing. The purpose is to do.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve an intended object, an article supply device according to claim 1 of the present application is
In the article supply apparatus for sending the articles received from the previous process to the subsequent process in a predetermined number of units,
While accepting a plurality of accommodating portions article to each of which the moving direction forward continuously moves toward the product supply position to the article discharge position different line and said article supply position by the article supply position, housing part at the article discharge position A buffer conveyor capable of discharging articles in a predetermined number of units in a direction intersecting the moving direction,
A belt conveyor provided with an adsorption belt for adsorbing and conveying articles, and arranged so that articles can be supplied to the accommodation section from a direction intersecting with the moving direction of the accommodation section at the article supply position, and at an interval of the accommodation sections In response, a transport conveyor provided with swinging means for swinging the transport end portion back and forth in the moving direction of the storage section (34),
An article detection means for detecting the passage of the article conveyed by the suction belt at the article delivery position to the storage unit in the conveyor;
The transport conveyor is the same as the container that is continuously moved forward in the moving direction when supplying each article that has passed through the article delivery position to the container in response to the detection signal of the article detector. The swinging means is operated so as to move forward the conveyance terminal portion at a speed, and the article is supplied from the conveyance terminal portion moved so as to be able to send the article to the container portion, and after the supply, It characterized in that the rocking means to retract movement of the conveyor terminal end to a position capable of supplying the article for subsequent accommodating portion in the forward movement in the moving direction behind the housing part is working.
According to this, it is possible to ensure a long time for supplying the article by the conveyance terminal part following the movement of the container part, and the article after the conveyance terminal part is instantaneously positioned in the next container part after the article supply. Since it can supply, the cycle time about individual article supply is shortened, and high-speed processing becomes possible. In addition, since the conveyance terminal portion is swung while moving the accommodating portion forward in response to the article detection signal by the article detecting means, the advancing movement of the accommodating portion is temporarily in a standby state in response to a delay in the supply of the article to the accommodating portion. Therefore, it is possible to reliably supply articles without generating an empty article container.

The gist of the invention according to claim 2 is that the rearward moving speed of the transport terminal is set higher than the forward moving speed.
According to this, cycle time can be shortened.

In the invention according to claim 3, the forward movement speed of the accommodating portion in the buffer conveyor is high when the conveyance end portion moves following the forward movement of the accommodating portion and then moves backward in the moving direction of the accommodating portion. The gist is that it was set to be
According to this, the cycle time can be further shortened.

In the invention according to claim 4, the buffer conveyor is configured such that the storage unit moves on a loop track along a horizontal plane, and the article supply position is set on a first straight line in which the storage unit linearly moves, The gist is that the article discharge position is set on a second straight line opposite to the first straight line.
According to this, the distance between the article supply position and the article discharge position is increased, and the article supply at the article discharge position on the second straight line is allowed while the article is supplied at the article supply position on the first straight line. It can be done with.

In the invention according to claim 5, the transport conveyor includes a transport path for converting an article from a horizontal posture to a standing posture, and the transport terminal portion extending in the vertical direction is configured to swing around the upper portion as a fulcrum. The gist of the invention is that an article in an upright posture is sent from above the housing portion.
According to this, when the articles raised from the article discharge position are discharged and brought into a collective state, the articles are surely installed without installing a device or the like that converts the articles up to the buffer conveyor into a standing posture. It can be converted into an upright posture and supplied into the accommodating portion.

In the invention according to claim 6, on the upstream side of the conveyor, an interval detecting means for detecting an interval with a subsequent article, and when the article interval obtained by the interval detecting means is narrower than a specified value, the article is transferred on the conveying path. The gist of the invention is to provide an article exclusion means for discharging to the outside.
According to this, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a plurality of articles are sent into a single storage unit by always setting the article interval to be equal to or greater than a specified value.

  According to the article supply apparatus according to the present invention, the cycle time when the article is fed from the transfer conveyor to the buffer conveyor can be shortened, so that high-speed processing is possible.

  Next, the article supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of preferred embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows an article supply apparatus according to an embodiment of a buffer conveyor 12 that receives an article 70 into an accommodation unit 34 at an article supply position P, transfers it to an article discharge position Q, and delivers it to the next process. A transfer conveyor 40 that supplies articles 70 to the respective storage portions 34 of the buffer conveyor 12 is disposed above. In addition, the conveyance conveyor 40 of an Example receives the article | item 70 from the front process via the feed conveyor 52 connected to the upstream.

  The buffer conveyor 12 is provided with a moving table 16 that can move reciprocally horizontally in a predetermined range along the longitudinal direction of the horizontally long machine casing 14 (see FIG. 2 or 3). A pair of vertical shafts 18 and 18 are rotatably supported on the moving table 16 at a predetermined interval in the moving direction. In each shaft body 18, a lower sprocket 20 and an upper sprocket 22 are horizontally disposed apart from each other in the vertical direction, and both the sprockets 20 and 22 are configured to rotate integrally with the shaft body 18. In the machine frame 14, two servo motors 24, 24 that are independently controlled to rotate are arranged spaced apart in the short direction across the moving table 16, and are respectively connected to the output shafts of both servo motors 24, 24. A drive sprocket 26 is attached (see FIG. 3). The lower rope body 30 is wound around the lower sprockets 20 and 20 and the drive sprockets 26 and 26, and the other servo motor 24 is rotated while the one servo motor 24 is stopped. By doing so, the movable table 16 is configured to move forward or backward in the longitudinal direction. The machine frame 14 is provided with tension rollers 28 and 28 that are in contact with the outer surface of the lower cable body 30 at both side positions sandwiching each drive sprocket 26 so as to rotate, so that the lower cable body 30 is always driven. It presses against the sprocket 26 for use.

  An upper cable body 32 is wound between the upper sprockets 22, 22, and a plurality of accommodating portions 34 that are open upward and laterally with respect to the upper cable body 32 are disposed at predetermined intervals. ing. The buffer conveyor 12 is circulated and moved along a substantially oval loop trajectory extending in the horizontal direction as the upper rope 32 rotates along with the movement of the moving table 16 by the rotation of the servo motor 24. (See FIG. 2). The buffer conveyor 12 receives the article 70 from the transport conveyor 40 into the storage portion 34 at the article supply position P set in the first straight line L1 along the longitudinal direction of the loop track, and the first position facing the first straight line L1. The article 70 is configured to be transferred to the article discharge position Q set to two straight lines (different lines) L2. In addition, the buffer conveyor 12 can independently move or stop the storage portion 34 at the article supply position P and the article discharge position Q by independently rotating or stopping the two servo motors 24 and 24. In addition, the container 34 can be stopped at the article discharge position Q of the second straight line L2 at the same time as the container 34 is continuously moved along the first straight line L1. The buffer conveyor 12 is provided with a discharge pusher (not shown) at the article discharge position Q, and each of the articles 70 from the predetermined number of units of the storage unit 34 stopped at the article discharge position Q to the outside perpendicular to the moving direction. It is configured to extrude and send the article 70 to the next process every predetermined number of units.

  The buffer conveyor 12 is basically driven and controlled so as to move the container 34 at a speed corresponding to the article supply speed of the transport conveyor 40. In addition, in the 1st straight line L1 of the buffer conveyor 12, this conveyance termination | terminus part 44 is based on the moving speed of the accommodating part 34 when the conveyance termination | terminus part 44 mentioned later of the conveyance conveyor 40 moves to the moving direction front of the accommodating part 34. It is preferable to set the moving speed of the housing portion 34 when moving backward in the moving direction to a high speed.

  The transfer conveyor 40 is disposed above the buffer conveyor 12 so that the end thereof faces the article supply position P, which is a predetermined position of the first straight line L1 in the buffer conveyor 12, and intersects the moving direction with respect to the storage unit 34. The articles 70 are supplied one by one from above (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the conveyor 40 has an adsorption belt 42 that adsorbs and conveys an article 70 that is a side-packed product through a suction port by suction negative pressure of air. The suction belt 42 is guided around the path curved in a circular arc downward from the conveyor toward the end of the conveyor, thereby forming a conveyance path for converting the article 70 conveyed in a lateral attitude into a standing attitude. Further, the conveying conveyor 40 has a conveying terminal portion 44 whose lower end faces above the passage of the accommodating portion 34 at the article supply position P before and after the moving direction of the accommodating portion 34 in the first straight line L1 by the swinging means 46. It is configured to be able to swing.

  The rocking means 46 includes a rocking servo motor 48 and a crank mechanism 50 that rotates by the rotation of the servo motor 48. One end of a crank arm 50a in the crank mechanism 50 is connected to the conveying end portion 44 extending in the vertical direction. The reciprocating movement of the crank arm 50a causes the conveying end portion 44 to move along the first straight line L1 with the upper portion as a fulcrum. It swings by a distance corresponding to the arrangement interval of the accommodating portions 34 and 34 before and after the moving direction of the accommodating portion 34 (solid line and two-dot chain line in FIG. 4). The servo motor 48 for swinging is reciprocated once so that the article 70 fed from the terminal part 44 is fed into the empty container part 34 in accordance with the supply timing of the article 70 to the container part 34. The rotation is controlled so that Further, when the transport end portion 44 moves forward (when the accommodating portion 34 moves forward in the buffer conveyor 12), the speed of the accommodating portion 34 is adjusted so as to follow the forward movement of the accommodating portion 34. The servo motor 48 is rotationally controlled so as to synchronize with the buffer conveyor 12 so as to have the same speed as the moving speed. Then, the articles 70 desorbed from the conveyance end portion 44 are sent into the storage portion 34 until the conveyance end portion 44 reaches the forward end point. Further, the swing servo motor 48 is configured such that the conveyance end portion is moved during the period when the conveyance end portion 44 moves backward (moves backward in the movement direction of the storage portion 34 in the buffer conveyor 12) after the article 70 is fed into the accommodation portion 34. The rotation is controlled so that the backward movement speed of 44 is higher than the forward movement speed.

The conveyance conveyor 40 is provided with an article detection sensor (article detection means) 54 that detects the passage of the article 70 that has been conveyed at the article delivery position D to the container 34 at the conveyance terminal end 44. (See Figure 2). Each time the article 70 is detected by the article detection sensor 54, the swinging means 46 is operated so as to reciprocate the transport terminal end 44 of the transport conveyor 40, and if the article 70 is not detected by the article detection sensor 54, Control is performed so as to stop the reciprocating movement of the conveyance end portion 44 by the moving means 46 and stop the forward movement of the accommodating portion 34 in the first straight line L1 of the buffer conveyor 12. The article delivery position D is a position at which the conveyed article 70 can be supplied to the storage unit 34, and is a position at which the article 70 is sent out from the transport conveyor 40 on the near side to the storage unit 34. It is set to.

  As shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the feed conveyor 52 connected to the upstream side of the transport conveyor 40 is disposed so as to extend upwardly toward the downstream side above the buffer conveyor 12, The article 70 is set to be conveyed at the same speed as the suction belt 42 in the conveyor 40. Note that the feed conveyor 52 is a belt conveyor that conveys the article 70 by sucking and holding the article 70 on the belt surface in the same manner as the conveyance conveyor 40, and is configured to convey the article 70 in a lying state. In the middle of the conveyance of the article 70 by the feed conveyor 52, the interval detection means 56 for detecting the quality of the conveyance interval with the subsequent article 70 conveyed at predetermined intervals, and the downstream of the interval detection means 56 in the conveyance direction. The article excluding means 58 is provided. The interval detection means 56 includes a first sensor 56a and a second sensor 56b arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first sensor 56a, and both the first sensor 56a and the second sensor 56b pass the feed conveyor 52. It is composed of a pair of sensors disposed between. The interval detection means 56 is configured to detect the quality between the articles based on the detection timing of the first sensor 56a and the second sensor 56b of the article 70 conveyed by the feed conveyor 52. The article exclusion means 58 is disposed on one side of the feed conveyor 52, and when the gap detection means 56 detects a defect whose article interval is narrower than specified, the article exclusion means 58 feeds the article 70 by spraying with a jet nozzle of compressed air. It is discharged out of the conveying path of the conveyor 52.

(Effects of Example)
Next, the operation of the article supply apparatus according to the embodiment will be described. The feed conveyor 52 sucks and holds the article 70 that has been conveyed from the previous process as a packed product at a predetermined interval in a lying posture, and delivers it to the conveyor 40. When the article 70 is conveyed while being sucked and held by the suction belt 42 of the conveyor 40, the conveying path is converted into the crossing direction through an arcuate curved path, thereby raising the conveying posture of the article 70. It is converted into a posture and arrives at the conveyance end portion 44. When the article detection sensor 54 detects the passage of the article 70 at the article delivery position D to the storage section 34 in the transport conveyor 40, the servo motor 48 is driven to rotate, and the transport end section 44 is sent out from the end section 44. The article 70 is swung so as to be fed into the empty accommodation section 34 in the buffer conveyor 12, and the article 70 is supplied in a standing posture to the accommodation section 34 at the article supply position P in the first straight line L <b> 1. When the article 70 held by the suction belt 42 is supplied from the conveyance end portion 44 to the accommodation portion 34, the conveyance end portion 44 moves to the accommodation portion 34 that continuously moves forward along the first straight line L1. Since the article 70 is fed into the accommodating portion 34 while following and moving at the same speed, it is possible to ensure a long time for supplying the article, and high-speed processing for delivering the article 70 from the transport conveyor 40 to the buffer conveyor 12 at a high speed. Even at times, the article 70 can be supplied stably. Then, the conveyance terminal unit 44 moves backward after the supply of the article and reaches a predetermined position where the article 70 in the subsequent storage unit 34 in the rearward movement direction of the storage unit 34 can be supplied. Thus, the cycle time until the article 70 can be fed is shortened, and higher speed processing is possible. Further, the backward movement speed of the transfer terminal 44 is set to be higher than the forward movement speed, or the transfer terminal 44 is moved by the moving speed of the container 34 when the transfer terminal 44 moves forward in the buffer conveyor 12. By setting the moving speed of the container 34 at the time of returning to a high speed, the conveying terminal 44 and the container 34 to which the article 70 is to be fed next move at high speed in the direction approaching each other. The time required for the end portion 44 to move to a position where the next storage portion 34 can be received and the article 70 can be fed is shortened, and the cycle time can be further shortened. Note that the article detection sensor 54 is disposed at a position (article delivery position D) immediately before the article 70 is sent out to the storage portion 34 in the conveyance end portion 44, so that the article 70 is displaced after the article is detected by the sensor 54. Thus, reliable feeding into the accommodating portion 34 is achieved.

  Accommodating part 34 that received article 70 reaches article discharging position Q of second straight line L2 as it moves forward, and is stopped, and article 70 is orthogonally moved in the moving direction from a predetermined number of units of receiving part 34 by the discharge pusher. Each is pushed outward and sent to the next process in predetermined units. The buffer conveyor 12 can independently stop or move the accommodating portion 34 at the article supply position P and the article discharge position Q by independently controlling the rotation or stop of the two servo motors 24, 24. The article 70 is continuously supplied to the container 34 at the article supply position P of the first straight line L1 while the article 70 is being discharged from the container 34 stopped at the article discharge position Q of the second straight line L2. can do.

  When the article 70 does not arrive at the article delivery position D to the storage section 34 in the conveyance termination section 44 of the conveyance conveyor 40 and the article detection sensor 54 does not detect the passage thereof, the conveyance termination section 44 swings and the first straight line is detected. The forward movement of the storage unit 34 in the line L1 is stopped, and the conveyance end unit 44 is aligned and waits at a predetermined position where the article 70 can be supplied to the empty storage unit 34 following the already supplied storage unit 34. In response to the detection signal due to the passage of the next article 70 after the article detection sensor 54, the reciprocating movement of the conveyance terminal end 44 and the forward movement of the accommodating portion 34 in the first straight line L1 are resumed. Thereby, since the accommodating part 34 to which the article 70 is not supplied does not move to the article discharge position Q of the second straight line L2, the predetermined number of articles 70 can be reliably delivered to the next process.

  When the interval detection means 56 determines that the article interval between the preceding article 70 and the succeeding article 70 conveyed by the feed conveyor 52 is narrower than specified by the detection results of the first sensor 56a and the second sensor 56b. The succeeding article 70 is discharged out of the conveying path of the feed conveyor 52 by the article exclusion means 58.

  That is, since the articles 70 with poor spacing can be eliminated in advance on the upstream side of the transport conveyor 40, a problem that a plurality of articles 70 are fed into one storage section 34 can be avoided. The article 70 can be appropriately fed. Therefore, it does not hinder the article discharge in a plurality of units at the article discharge position Q.

(Example of change)
The present application is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and other configurations can be appropriately employed.
1. The reciprocating speed of the conveying terminal end 44 in the conveying conveyor 40 and the moving speed of the accommodating part 34 in the first straight line L1 in the buffer conveyor 12 are not limited to the control mode of the embodiment, and as necessary. Thus, the moving speed of the storage section 34 and the reciprocating speed of the conveyance end section 44 may be set constant.
2. In the embodiment, a configuration in which the crank mechanism 50 is operated by the servo motor 48 for swinging as the means for swinging the transport end portion 44 is not limited to this, but the transport end is not limited to this. As long as the part 44 can be reciprocated, other configurations such as changing the speed by a cam mechanism operated by a general-purpose motor can be adopted.
3. In the embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the article 70 is discharged out of the conveyance path by the jet air as the article exclusion means 58. However, the configuration is not limited to this configuration, and the article 70 may be excluded from the conveyor. Other various means may be used.
4). In the embodiment, the conveyance conveyor 40 is arranged above the buffer conveyor 12 and the article 70 is supplied to the container 34 from above. However, the conveyance conveyor 40 is arranged so as to cross the side of the buffer conveyor 12. Any configuration may be used as long as the article 70 is supplied from the side crossing the moving direction of the container 34 at least when the article 70 is fed from the side to the container 34.
5. In the embodiment, the buffer conveyor 12 is described as having a configuration in which the accommodating portion 34 is circulated and moved along a horizontal plane. However, the accommodating portion 34 may be circulated and moved along a vertical plane. The article supply position P may be set on the conveyance path and the article discharge position Q may be set on the lateral or lower conveyance path. As for the driving method of the buffer conveyor 12, the article 70 can be discharged by stopping the container 34 at the article discharge position Q while receiving the article 70 in each container 34 continuously moving at the article supply position P. For example, various methods other than the embodiment can be adopted.

1 is a side sectional view showing an article supply apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows the article supply apparatus of an Example. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the article | item supply apparatus of an Example. It is a side view which shows the conveyance conveyor and feed conveyor in the article supply apparatus of an Example. It is a top view which shows the conveyance conveyor and feed conveyor in the articles | goods supply apparatus of an Example.

Explanation of symbols

12 buffer conveyor, 34 storage section, 40 transport conveyor, 42 suction belt,
44 conveying end point, 46 swinging means, 54 article detection sensor (article detection means)
56 interval detection means, 58 article exclusion means, 70 articles, L1 first straight line L2 second straight line (different lines), D article delivery position, P article supply position Q article discharge position

Claims (6)

In the article supply apparatus for sending the article (70) received from the previous process to the subsequent process in a predetermined number of units,
An article (70 ) is placed in each of the plurality of accommodating parts (34) that continuously move from the article supply position (P) to the article discharge position (Q) on the line (L2) different from the article supply position (P) in the moving direction. ) wherein while receiving an article supply position (P) and, by Moto stopping accommodating portion (34) in the article discharging position (Q), in a direction intersecting the moving direction at a predetermined number of units of goods (70) A dischargeable buffer conveyor (12);
An adsorption belt (42) for adsorbing and conveying the article (70) is provided, and the article (70) is supplied to the accommodation section (34) from a direction intersecting the moving direction of the accommodation section (34) at the article supply position (P). A belt conveyor arranged to obtain a swing that swings a conveyance end portion (44) forward and backward in a moving direction of the storage portion (34) according to an arrangement interval of the storage portions (34, 34). A transport conveyor (40) with means (46);
Article detection means (54) for detecting the passage of the article (70) conveyed by the suction belt (42) at the article delivery position (D) to the storage section (34) in the conveyor (40) With
The transport conveyor (40) moves in the direction of movement when supplying each article (70) that has passed through the article delivery position (D) to the storage section (34) in response to the detection signal of the article detection means (54). The swinging means (46) is actuated so as to move forward the conveying terminal portion (44) at the same speed as the accommodating portion (34) that is continuously moved forward toward the front side. The article (70) is supplied to the accommodating part (34) from the conveying terminal part (44) that is moved so as to be able to send the article (70), and after the supply, the conveying part (34) is moved rearward in the moving direction. and characterized in that the rocking means to move backward transfer terminal end portion (44) subsequent accommodating portion in the forward movement relative to (34) to a position capable of feeding the article (70) (46) is created dynamic Article supply device.   The article supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a moving speed in the rearward direction of movement of the conveying terminal end portion (44) is set higher than a moving speed in the forward direction.   The forward movement speed of the accommodating part (34) in the buffer conveyor (12) is such that the conveying terminal part (44) moves following the forward movement of the accommodating part (34) and moves backward in the moving direction of the accommodating part (34). The article supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article supply apparatus is set to have a high speed when moving.   The buffer conveyor (12) is configured such that the container (34) moves along a loop track along a horizontal plane, and the article supply position (in the first straight line (L1) in which the container (34) moves linearly ( The article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article discharge position (Q) is set in a second straight line (L2) opposite to the first straight line (L1) while setting P). Feeding device.   The transport conveyor (40) is composed of a transport path for converting the article (70) from a horizontal posture to a standing posture, and the transport terminal portion (44) extending in the vertical direction is configured to swing around the upper portion as a fulcrum. The article supply apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the article (70) in a standing posture is fed from above the housing portion (34).   On the upstream side of the conveyor (40), an interval detection means (56) for detecting the interval with the subsequent article (70), and an article interval obtained by the interval detection means (56) The article supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising article exclusion means (58) for discharging the article (70) out of the conveyance path.

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